


Brand New Days

by Darksun2134



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27862545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darksun2134/pseuds/Darksun2134
Summary: It’s not like he wasn’t used to being shipped off to various different places, but this was a huge jump from his days in Tatsumi Port Island.It all started with a single letter...Minato Arisato.You have been selected to attend Shujin Academy for your 2nd year of high school. We understand that moving to the capital must be tough, but please rest assured that accommodation and all other admin will be sorted. Here is the scheduled meeting time. Please ensure that you are timely.A non metaverse AU where Minato and other persona characters attend Shujin Academy
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Brand New Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all.
> 
> It's been a long while, but I finally got the first chapter of my new fic "Brand New Days" to you.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.
> 
> p.s check the notes at the end once you've finished reading.

_ Shujin Academy… huh. _

It’s not like he wasn’t used to being shipped off to various different places, but this was a huge jump from his days in Tatsumi Port Island. 

It all started with a single letter... 

_ Minato Arisato. _

_ You have been selected to attend Shujin Academy for your 2nd year of high school. We understand that moving to the capital must be tough, but please rest assured that accommodation and all other admin will be sorted. Here is the scheduled meeting time. Please ensure that you are timely.  _

It wasn’t the first time he decided to move someplace else for a change of school. He had spent a year at Gekkoukan High back in his hometown for his first year of high school, but he found it to be tiring.

He had no friends there, but it was his choice. To him, people were just an annoyance. School is just another stepping stone in a boring life that could end at any moment. Why should he put all that effort in when it doesn’t mean much to him in the grand scheme of things? 

_ I don’t care. _

That’s what he was telling himself as he boarded a packed train headed towards the capital. The luggage he was taking was light; he was never one to hoard. That seemed like too much effort for him.

He managed to find a place to lean and put his headphones on. Moments like these are what he always enjoyed. No one knew him, so no one had a reason to bother him. He took out the other documentation that his new school had given him, and glazed over it.

He was to meet someone outside of the station at the designated time, and they would give him an induction, showing him around the school and also showing him his accommodation. After letting out a silent groan, he checked his watch. He still had some time left before he would arrive in Tokyo, and the train was getting even busier. 

He couldn’t complain too much though, as usually he would be at school on Saturdays. He closed his eyes for a while and tried to envision what his new school life would be like.

_ Isn’t it a bit weird that they sent me a letter? _

His mind had a point. After all, it was almost like he was getting scouted or something. He was pretty average back at his old school, so what did they want with someone like him? His teachers always said that he could be great at academics if he applied himself. However, that would require a lot more effort than he was willing to put in. He just didn’t care about his future. Heck, he doesn’t even care about tomorrow.

_ What about accommodation? _

Minato really didn’t care about interacting with his peers. Last year, he spent his time in a dorm, where some of his annoying classmates always tried to talk to him. He didn’t want friends because he was sure that all they would bring to the table was drama and that would be far too tiring. 

In an ideal world, he would get a small apartment where he wouldn’t be forced to interact with anyone. He didn’t need size or comfort, what he really wanted was peace. The idea of breezing through school life without a worry was all he needed. Of course, he wasn’t one to stay in dreamland. He would probably have to talk to people, and he wouldn’t get his quiet little apartment. 

His thoughts were broken when he felt something nudge into him, and the sound of falling books overtook his music.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” A voice called out.

Internally sighing, Minato carried on looking out of the train window. The landscapes of the country slowly became industrialised, signaling that he was slowly reaching his destination. He felt the gaze of the person burning a hole through his head. He kept his eyes fixated on the landscape, hoping that the person would get the message. 

_ Why are they still here? I don’t want to speak to you. _

Minato turned his music up and closed his eyes. This day wasn’t starting off well.

“It’s time to wake up. Come on Minato-kun!”

He couldn’t help but open his eyes. After all, how would anyone on the train know his name? And he wasn’t asleep, he was just trying to escape reality.

The problem was, he wasn’t on the train anymore! He didn’t know where he was, all he could hear was the same voice telling him to wake up. He had no idea who this voice belonged to, but for some reason it felt oddly relaxing to him. There was something nostalgic in that voice, but before he could try to pinpoint who it was, the ringing of the intercom brought him back.

_ The next stop is Shibuya. Please ensure you have all of your belongings. I repeat. The next stop is Shibuya. Please ensure you have all of your belongings. _

Minato turned around, and began making his way towards the doors. While trains were busy back in Port Island, these were a lot busier. He could only sigh as he hoped that he wouldn’t have to travel far to go to school everyday. 

As soon as he managed to squeeze out of the train, he headed downstairs for a moment of respite. There were still 15 minutes until the meeting time, so he decided to head to the toilets. The journey was tiring for him, and he just needed some time with his thoughts.

_ This place could take some getting used to...  _

The station was extremely loud. He couldn’t concentrate properly or even think straight. He checked his watch, and with 10 minutes to go, he decided to slowly make his way to the meeting place. On the way there, he headed to a convenience store and picked out some curry pan. Just getting to Shibuya was exhausting enough, so he needed something to eat.

He walked to the meeting spot and found a nearby bench. With the curry pan still in his hand, he took a bite. It tasted good, and one of his favourite hobbies was scrolling through social media on his phone. He never posted, commented or liked anything, he just liked to see what was going on in the world. He was happy to be a background character, especially as it meant he would have some peace.

A sharp “Ahem.” broke his concentration. 

He looked up to see a stern looking middle aged woman.

_ What does she want with me? Does she want the seat? Whatever… _

Minato stood up and headed away from the bench.

“Are you Arisato-san by any chance?” the lady asked.

Minato turned around to look at the woman. She was holding a clipboard with a familiar logo. He took out his letter, and the logos matched. He must’ve been so engrossed in his endless scrolling that he forgot about meeting with someone from the school. He nodded, and the woman’s expression softened. 

“I’m here from Shujin Academy, it’s nice to meet you.” She said, her voice noticeably more soft. Minato looked at her, not saying a word. “I’ll start by showing you your accommodation.” It’s pretty close to the academy, so you won’t have to travel far.” The woman looked at him and smiled.

“Is this your first time in Shibuya? It’s easy to get lost here, so be careful.” She continued. This was indeed Minato’s first time in Shibuya, but he didn’t need to tell her that. She was right about it being busy - the shops were bustling and the noise was overwhelming. It didn’t take him long to decide that he wasn’t going to go there unless he really had to.

“Just past this street is the residential district in which your dorm is located. There are 8 other students who will be living there with you. Try to get along!” As soon as he heard this, he put his head down.

_ Another dorm… _

“They are all second years like you, so you should be fine.” she continued, as they walked past central street and into the residential district. It was very much an urban jungle - stations, smaller businesses, playgrounds and blocks of flats were as far as the eye could see. After going down a byroad, the two arrived at a building which looked very similar to his old dorm in Port Island.

“This is the dorm that you’ll be spending the next 2 years in!” she exclaimed. Minato couldn’t help but wonder how this woman had this boundless excitement. As they walked in, he started to survey the room with his eyes.

It was certainly well furnished, with sofas, chairs and a TV in the living area. As he followed the woman, he walked into the entertainment area. There were PCs, a mini library, game consoles, a pool table among other things. The woman caught on to Minato’s silent surveying and let out a laugh.

“Surprised?” she smiled at him. “We want our students to live happily. We believe that a good living environment contributes to success academically.” Minato nodded, and continued to follow the woman. They made their way upstairs, where he assumed the bedrooms were. 

“Arisato… Your room is over there.” She pointed to the end of the hall. He would’ve preferred a room closer to the stairs, so he could slip out without causing too much attention but he knew not to stress these things. Minato took his luggage with him into his new room. It was spacy, and had a big bed. This is where he would be spending the majority of his high school life.

As he put his suitcase on his bed, the woman came in.

“Is it good enough for you?” She asked.

“I don’t really care. As long as it has a bed.” He replied sternly.

“So you can speak then.” Her voice suddenly became colder. “Anyway, it’s time we make our way to the academy. You’ll meet your new homeroom teacher, and the principal.” Minato nodded and followed her.

_ School is so exhausting, can’t I just study by myself in my room? _

Of course, he knew that wouldn’t be possible, and he would not be wasting his breath on asking that question. 

Luckily for Minato, the school was a 30 minute walk away from the dorm. It’s not too far that he would have to get the train, but wasn’t so close that he wouldn’t be able to savour the peace it would give him. He enjoyed the peace that the school journey gave to him, and used this time to listen to some music and blot out any distractions which was to the chagrin of the person accompanying him. 

Once they had arrived at the gates of Shujin Academy, Minato sighed. It’s not like he wanted to go across the country just to change schools, but he had done his research before attending. It was supposedly an elite prep school, and the fees were expensive. However, the school had offered to pay all fees including accommodation. Why did they want him to come here? After all, he had tried his best to remain average at his old school.

He could only sigh to himself as he followed the woman up to the 3rd floor. He saw multiple students sneak glances at him. It was club time, and all Minato wanted to do was go to his room and sleep. He hadn’t even received his uniform yet, or anything else he might need. All he brought was casual clothes and some money.

The tour came to a stop when Minato reached the principal's office. The lady motioned him to go in, and he was met with someone who looked like they could spill out of their suit at any moment.

_ This guy must be the principal... _

“Arisato-san! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” The grossly overweight man exclaimed. Minato could barely manage a nod. The last thing he wanted was to be lectured, or even spoken to. “You must be wondering why we invited you here. You are part of the first special class of Shujin Academy, where we take students from across the country and give them a chance to receive a better education.” 

The man looked smug, but Minato brushed it off. He didn’t care about any ulterior motive the principal might have for bringing him here. Minato was too busy daydreaming to realise that there was another adult beside the obscenely large man.

“I’m Kobayakawa, the headmaster of this grand school, and the woman beside me will be your new homeroom teacher as of this Monday.” He said while gesturing to the obviously uninterested woman.

“Sadayo Kawakami. It’s nice to meet you.” It was fairly obvious to Minato that she really didn’t care, she had the same feelings that he had for the whole day. “In this bag is your uniform, and helpful documentation such as your timetable and the clubs that the school offers.” Minato nodded and took the bag. Was the meeting finally over?

“You can spend this time looking around the school if you want. One of your classmates is also looking around the school at the moment, so you might bump into her. You are free to leave now. Your school life begins with homeroom at 8:30. Make sure you aren’t late.” the headmaster droned. Minato could finally go home, without anyone following him around or talking to him.

As soon as he got out of the principal’s office, he put in his headphones and made a beeline to the exit. He realised that he stuck out like a sore thumb in casual clothes, especially with everyone in red and black blazers. It was only a week into Minato’s second year as a high school student, but he was glad that it didn’t actually consist of going to school. 

As he walked down the last set of stairs and towards the shoe lockers he thought he heard a voice, but putting it down to being surprised at a backup vocalist, he carried on towards the entrance. The backup vocals got even louder, before he took off his headphones to check that he wasn’t going crazy.

“So you finally decided to listen to me?” A voice came from behind Minato. Sighing, he put his headphones back on and walked away. He couldn’t go far as he felt a tug on his shirt. He turned around to see the person looking angrily at him. “Why are you ignoring me? You’re new here too, aren’t you?”

Minato nodded, and turned around to the exit. This only aggravated the person further. “Listen to me! Have you looked around the school yet? Do you even know where our homeroom is?” Minato shook his head.

“I don’t care. I’ll find it on Monday.” he replied. He was already using up way too much energy by entertaining this conversation.

“Well, you’re coming with me to find it, as I don’t want to look alone. My name is Kotone Shiomi by the way. What’s your name?”

Makoto looked at the girl that was annoying him. She was slightly shorter than him, with tied up auburn hair. He sighed, knowing that he would have at least one annoying classmate.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to go looking for it. I’m going back to the dorm.” He replied. She sighed and put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not too familiar with the route back to the dorm, so could you please accompany me? I promise it won’t take too long to find our homeroom.” she asked pleadingly. Minato sighed, wondering why her expression and voice had softened. He reluctantly agreed after realising that he wasn’t going to get any peace otherwise.

“Fine.” He replied, turning around and putting his headphones back on. This was a waste of time, but the quicker he did this the sooner he could go back to the dorm and sleep. He didn’t care that it was only 4:30pm, the journey was taxing on him. The two went up the stairs, Minato making sure that he lagged behind with his hands in his pockets.

The 2nd Year classrooms were on the 2nd floor, and Kotone began to enter the classrooms one by one. Minato decided to just stay outside, and scroll on his phone. His concentration was quickly broken by the auburn haired mass of energy. 

“Why didn’t you come with me?” She asked, in a curious tone. Minato looked at her for a brief second before resuming his scrolling. This was one type of classmate he wanted to stay away from. One that would surely make his school life more eventful than he would like. At least with her around, class wouldn’t be extremely boring.

“Our classroom is over there.” Kotone said, before sighing. “You really ought to be more interested, you know? They say that your school years are your most fulfilling.” Minato could only let out a sigh, as he turned his back towards Kotone and headed towards the stairs. He just wanted to go to sleep.

As an orphan, he didn’t have any place to call home. He would always be shipped from school to school, dorm to dorm. He yearned for the time where he could just get a place of his own, and spend the rest of his time in peace. It was hard for him to imagine living a normal school life, and actually enjoying said experience. It was just another roadblock for him.

As Kotone followed behind him, they made their way towards the entrance. Minato turned down his music, as Kotone caught up to him.

“So what do you think of this school? It certainly looks like an elite prep school, that’s for sure.” she looked at him, smiling.

“I don’t care. Just looks okay.” he murmured, keeping his head down.

“Did anyone tell you that you’re pretty boring?” she replied, sighing. “Anyway… the club facilities look really awesome! I wonder which one i’ll join. There’s swimming, cooking…” As Kotone rambled on, Minato turned his music up. He wasn’t interested in joining a club - that would mean spending more time in school, with other people.

Minato carried on walking besides the constantly chattering Kotone. He had hoped that the fact that he had kept his head down the whole time would signal to her that he was not interested in keeping up with this conversation. 

As they walked away, they reached the ever bustling central street. It was later on in the day now, and that meant it was even busier. He sighed, and tried to pick up the pace. It wasn’t too much further to the dorm, so Minato could finally relax.

“It’s my first time in Tokyo, it’s so busy here!” Kotone exclaimed. How she could be so excited about a jam-packed shopping area was beyond him. It was too loud, and too busy to get any reasonable shopping done.

“Yeah.” Minato replied. After Kotone’s shock that he had actually spoken, she continued. “I’m really going to enjoy shopping here, maybe i’ll go tomorrow.” She said, looking at Minato. Tomorrow was Sunday after all. A day where he could relax, and do nothing. There were PCs in the dorm, so he could spend his time scrolling or playing an MMO. He’d also assume that the others would arrive tomorrow.

To him, it didn’t matter that he was living in a big city or out in the boonies, he would much rather spend his time indoors. Not having parents, he wasn’t bound by curfews or rules - not that he was interested in anything that would annoy his would be parents. He went straight home after school - no karaoke, no going to the beach, no summer festivals that were the norm in some of the anime and manga he had read. Many of his peers would ask him to do things, so it wasn’t like he found himself in this situation unwillingly. The two eventually left the busy street and moved to the residential district that the dormitory was located in. 

“Hey… I never got your name.” Kotone said to him, while turning towards him. Minato looked at her, and continued walking. “Hey!” She shouted, as she caught up to him. “I gave you mine, so it’s only fair.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He replied, as she began to grow impatient. 

“What do you mean? We are going to be classmates for the next year, so isn’t it important for me to know?” Minato ignored her questioning, as they approached a convenience store. He stopped and made a beeline for the automatic doors.

Confused, Kotone hurriedly caught up to him. “You could have told me, you know.” she said in an annoyed tone.

“Why do you care what i’m getting for dinner?” he replied, as he scoured the shelves. He looked all over, before deciding on some microwave ramen, some potato chips and some soda. Minato walked towards the till, and was met with a disapproving look.

“You’re eating that junk for dinner? Just because you are living by yourself now, doesn’t mean that you can just eat what you want. What would your parents think?” Minato looked at her and sighed, as he made his way to pay for his food. It was none of her business what he ate after all. 

After he paid, he waited for Kotone to pick her dinner and walked out the shop.

“You seem pretty relaxed considering you are living without your parents. I’m starting to feel like an adult now.” Kotone exclaimed. The sun was beginning to set, and Minato was beginning to get drowsy. The same couldn’t be said for Kotone though, as when he snuck a glance at her, she looked very cheerful. What was so fun about living without parents anyway? “Seems that the rest of our classmates are coming tomorrow, aren’t you excited to meet them?”

“I don’t care, they are only my classmates.” Minato replied. Kotone was not pleased with his response.

“Do you not want to make friends?” She asked him sternly. “School will be boring for you otherwise.” Minato carried on walking, ignoring Kotone’s advice. “Either way, we will all be staying at the dorm, so you will have to interact with them wherever you like it or not.” Minato was taken aback by how forward she was being with him, but he wasn’t about to let it show on his face. He knew he would have to talk to them, but if he could keep it to the absolute minimum then that would be the best-case scenario.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of weird though? We all got invited to attend a school in Tokyo out of nowhere! I wouldn’t want to waste an opportunity like that.” Minato was glad someone else found it weird, he had never heard of people getting specifically scouted to attend a top rate school. He didn’t care though, because he was used to going from school to school.

The dormitory was now in view, much to his relief. Today expended more energy than Minato would have liked. After entering the room, Kotone jumped onto a nearby sofa and turned the TV on.

“Today sure was long!” she exclaimed, while reaching into her grocery bag. She yawned as she grabbed the chocolate bar she was longing for the whole way home. Ignoring the blatant hypocrisy that she had just shown off, Minato walked towards the microwave and started to prepare his ramen. This was only the first day of a new school life, and he was already tired. 

Once it was done, he made his way up the stairs to the 2nd floor, where the guy’s rooms were. He sat on his bed and began to recount the day's events. The school looked pretty okay to him, not that he wanted to spend any more time that was necessary there. He only met a single classmate, with the rest due to arrive tomorrow. He wondered about his other classmates for just a second before his mind wandered to a more important question - how would he spend his first free day? 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new fic!
> 
> First of all, I hope that this fic will be better than my previous work after taking in the feedback that you guys left me.
> 
> Second of all. I want you guys to choose who will be attending the academy and staying at the dorm with Minato and Kotone! Follow me on twitter @darksun2134 where I will be holding polls and taking requests. There will be 4 additional male characters (main party members excluding Shinjiro and Ken) and 4 additional female characters (main party members excluding Aigis). You can also suggest characters you want to see in the comments! (if you have a reason for your desired character, then even better!)
> 
> Finally, as always, if you have any feedback please don't hesitate to let me know on twitter or in the comments.


End file.
